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Harry Potter and the Black King	By : Phoenixstrike Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 10587 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter and all characters and situations are created and owned by JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Warner Bros. No money is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapter ten: the Unintentional Horcrux

September passed and October arrived, bringing with it cooler air which caused the inhabitants to shiver and need to cast warming charms. The weather turned decidedly autumnal towards the end of the month. The square in Grimmauld Place was awash in a sea of oranges and browns as the leaves continued to fall, and Harry thought it smelt of bonfires and damp vegetation outside. Harry was thinking about Quidditch; had he been at Hogwarts this year he would be preparing for the Slytherin Versus Gryffindor match about now. He felt a pang of sadness that he was not able to play- the same pang he always felt when he thought about Quidditch, or Hogwarts, or Ron and Hermione.

He continued to practise occlumency with Draco, and was making steady progress. He was able to shield a specific thought from him now, and although Harry believed a stronger occlumens such as Snape would be able to break the shield with ease, it was still major progress compared to the fiasco his lessons in his fifth year had been.

Harry also continued to study Dark magic; the most recent spell he practised was called Lemures maxima which reminded Harry of a patronus except far more terrifying. It was only effective against opponents who had tortured victims to death, as the spell called up spirits of the opponent’s victims. The spirits then formed a barrier between caster and opponent, in the same way a patronus did a dementor and caster, but forced their killer to feel everything their victims felt in their dying moments in an act of vengefulness. Harry thought with satisfaction that Bellatrix especially deserved to be on the receiving end of this particular spell. The most beautiful thing about this spell was it wouldn’t work on innocents; only those who had deliberately killed could suffer, and Harry found he had no moral objection to it whatsoever.

The last week of October bought some unexpected but welcome news. A beaming Remus had visited Grimmauld Place to ask Harry a very special favour- to move Tonks in and behind the protective wards and fidelius charm. He and Tonks had recently discovered they were going to be parents and wanted to make sure the pregnancy went as easily and safely as it could.

“But that’s brilliant!” Harry exclaimed, wringing Remus’ hand in congratulations. “Of course she can move in! When is the baby due?”

“She’s about six weeks’ pregnant, so the baby is due in June.”

Harry acquired a determined look on his face at that. “I’ll have Voldemort defeated before then” he told Remus confidentially. “As much as I can guarantee it. I’ll do everything I can to end this before then. Your child is not going to grow up in the middle of a war.”

Harry had spent the rest of the afternoon and a good portion of the evening with a silly smile plastered on his face. The news had lifted him out of his sombre mood considerably; something as joyous as a pregnancy, and to befall two of his favourite people, was too powerful to keep him feeling sorry for himself.

*****

“Wotcha Harry!”

Harry gave Tonks a gentle hug as she and Remus appeared in Grimmauld Place the following day, being careful not to squeeze her stomach. She laughed. “You won’t hurt the baby you know. It’s well protected in there. Look, thanks again for letting us move in. We have wards on our house but the fidelius offers so much more protection.”

“You know it’s my pleasure” Harry beamed. Just then Draco appeared in the doorway, unsure of whether he was invited to this small gathering. Harry took control and held out his hand, which Draco eyed gratefully before taking. “I take it Remus told you about us?”

Tonks nodded and gave a small laugh. “So, dearest cousin, I hope your intentions with Harry are entirely honourable!”

Draco spluttered, turned scarlet, which caused both Remus and Tonks to snigger, before taking her bags up to hers and Remus’ room, muttering something about ‘passing my regards to Aunt Andromeda’.

“You don’t mind about the two of us then?” Harry asked cautiously. Tonks looked confused.

“Should I? Because he’s another man, or because he’s a former Death Eater? In either case, no I don’t mind. If I was homophobic I’d hardly be married to a man who had a long relationship with another bloke, and from what Remus has told me, my cousin there has been an asset in helping fight You-know-Who. That makes him okay in my book. Besides, this practically makes us family now!”

*****

“Just relax. Your mind is most vulnerable and likely to be attacked when you’re relaxing and this is what we need to protect most.”

Harry did as he was told. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the memory he was trying to shield from Draco, which happened to be the time he entered the Slytherin common room Polyjuiced, and focussed on breathing deeply. His mind was calm and he was even close to falling asleep. He felt the now- familiar presence of Draco’s mind entering his, smiling as Draco began searching for the hidden memory that Harry had secured in his mental trunk, confident he wouldn’t find it.

Suddenly Harry heard Draco gasp and then felt him abruptly pull out of his mind. Harry snapped out of his sleepiness, opened his eyes and stared at Draco in confusion, which quickly became concern when he saw the look on his face. Draco was pale and wide-eyed and, Harry thought, he looked scared.

“Harry, there’s something there in your mind” Draco said quietly. “I’ve never seen it there before, but we’ve never tried this when you’re so relaxed and your mind is so open. I… I don’t think it’s part of you. But it’s definitely sentient.”

If Harry had not already been lying down he was sure his knees would have buckled under him in that moment. Something sentient, in his mind that wasn’t part of him? He could only think of one thing that sounded like, but it couldn’t possibly be, could it?

No. Oh God, please, no.

“What is it?” Harry all but whispered, terrified of the answer, trying not to tremble.

“I think Severus should look at it” was the only response Draco would give. Harry nodded grimly and automatically followed Draco out of the room, with a heavy feeling of detachment from his own body.

*****

“Keep still and relax Harry. Are you ready? Legilimens!”

Snape’s presence in Harry’s mind was not as pleasant as Draco’s, and far more powerful. Although this was a million times better than it had been the last time Snape had tried this with him, it was still unpleasant. Harry had locked his mind away from Snape and he could tell the elder was impressed, but it still felt like an invasion. Draco continued to stroke his hair and whisper comforts into his ear, desperate to keep Harry calm, as Snape snaked through Harry’s mind. Harry focussed on his own heartbeat, trying hard not to panic. It wasn’t working very well. There is a piece of Voldemort in your head. You’re a Horcrux. And whilst this remains Voldemort cannot die.

Snape ended the spell and looked at Harry, his face grim.

“Harry, I regret to inform you that Draco is right. I’ve had a fair look at the foreign body and it is indeed incredibly Dark. I am certain that there is a fragment of Voldemort’s soul in you, most likely implanted when you reflected the killing curse and his already fractured soul latched onto you when his body was destroyed. He is undoubtedly unaware of it, but this still leaves the huge problem we’re presented with now as to how to remove it in order to restore Voldemort to mortality.”

“I’m going to have to die” Harry said quietly, vocalising the thought that had been at the forefront of his mind since Draco initially discovered the fragment, all the while trying to control his own shaking. He felt Draco stiffen next to him, and the pressure on the hand Draco was grasping increased. Snape gave him a look so gentle and full of regret it might not have belonged on his face at all.

“I sincerely hope it will not need to come to that Harry. I shall do everything in my power to find a way to purge it from your mind that does not result in your death.”

Snape offered Harry a lifeline the following morning, after a restless night’s sleep for them all. He retrieved a tiny vial with a few drops of clear liquid in it from inside his robes and handed it to Harry, who examined the vial questioningly.

“They’re phoenix tears” Snape replied to the unspoken enquiry. “I believe they are from Dumbledore’s own phoenix. He gave me this vial two months before his death, and told me, infuriatingly, that when the time came I would know what they were for, and refused to elaborate further. Once we were in possession of the basilisk fang I believed they were for emergency treatment if one of us was accidentally exposed to the venom. However last night I found this.”

He opened an old potions book to a recipe for a potion used by Healers for purging dead tumours and decayed flesh from patients.

“Harry, if we can isolate the horcrux in your mind and kill it then we can purge it from your body with this potion. The addition of the phoenix tears is necessary because-”

“-because I’m going to have to kill it with basilisk venom” interrupted Harry. “And you hope the tears will heal me after it’s gone.”

Snape gave a tiny smile. “That is correct. Harry, you have built a small immunity to the venom due to your exposure to it in your second year. As the horcrux is not part of you or your bloody supply it is not protected by this immunity. Therefore you can withstand the effects of the venom longer than the piece of soul can. We can allow the venom to destroy it, then administer the potion to purge it and aid your revival.”

“Why can’t we just give him the phoenix tears to heal him? Why in a purging potion, if Voldemort’s soul will be destroyed?” Draco asked.

“Well, apart from Harry not wanting a dead piece of the Dark Lord’s soul in his head for the rest of his life, there is the problem that this is an unprecedented situation” Snape replied. “Using the tears alone to heal Harry, whilst keeping the horcrux in place could also heal the part of Voldemort’s soul, as they can heal so much else that is considered beyond repair. It may not but it’s a risk we cannot afford to take as phoenix tears are so incredibly rare this is our one chance at doing this if the horcrux was to renew itself.”

“Will this work?” Harry was heartened to realise he was feeling much more positive. There was hope.

“As certain as I can be, which, as this is an untested, unique situation, is not a hundred per cent. But, yes Harry, I am confident this will not kill you.”

Harry felt the knot in his stomach completely unwind then, but something was still nagging him.

“Severus, why did Dumbledore give you the tears? Did- did he know I was a… a horcrux?” Even as he said it Dumbledore’s words came back to him. You can speak Parseltongue, Harry, because Lord Voldemort can speak Parseltongue. Dumbledore had known, and never told him. What if the fragment had never been found by Draco, or Snape was still spying for Voldemort and Harry believed him an enemy so would never have received the tears? Voldemort would never have been defeated. Dumbledore had left far too much to chance. Harry felt sick, betrayal almost physically oozing from every pore of his skin.

“I believe he did, yes Harry.” Draco made a small noise at this and threw an arm around Harry’s shoulder. So severe was this situation that Snape didn’t even raise a disapproving eyebrow. “I can only fathom that this information was so confidential, and it was so desperately important Voldemort never discovered this, that Albus didn’t even confide in me for fear of having the information taken from my mind. But we will never know the exact reason.”

Harry realised Draco was white and not saying much. He thought he’d taken this news better than Draco had. Draco appeared to be terrified for Harry’s life.

“Thank you Severus,” he said. “But this must be the last piece of him we destroy, apart from him himself. If I lose the parseltongue ability we may never get the remaining horcrux- we don’t know what protection is on it and two have relied on parseltongue so far. I have to hold on to that ability. And to see into his mind- I don’t like it but at times it’s useful and can save lives.”

Snape agreed to this. Draco still was quiet and white-faced.

“What do you think, Draco?” Harry asked him gently.

“I think this is all completely fucked up” Draco replied, dropping Harry’s hand and all but storming out of the room. Harry sighed and ran a hand over his face, and turned to follow him.

*****

“So what are we going to do?” Draco asked as soon as they were back in the bedroom they were now sharing. Harry stared at him in confusion.

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? Snape and I have just explained what is going to happen. I’ve got to get it out of me eventually, before the final battle. I’m going to have to use the basilisk fang on myself, then drink the potion and hopefully purge that bastard’s soul from my body.”

“But you might die” he said quietly, all emotion drained from his voice.

“Not if Snape’s potion works” Harry replied. “And there are no guarantees it will, I know that. However Snape is confident, and he’s about the best potions brewer in the county at the moment. It’s the only choice we have.”

“It is not” Draco retorted, the colour completely drained from his face.

“So you want me to stay as I am, do you? With a piece of Voldemort living in my head? Affecting my emotions and controlling my thoughts at will?”

“It’s better than you dying!” Draco snapped.

“Is it really? I live, but Voldemort wins? He’ll kill the muggles, and the muggleborns. He’ll come after everyone I love or care about and won’t stop until you’re all dead. You think I’d have a lovely quiet life if I just say, ‘sod this, I’m too selfish to die, everyone must suffer because of me’? Draco, I have to do this. I trust Snape, okay? I believe I’ll survive this. But if I don’t then-”

“Fuck you Harry” Draco interjected, his retort lost and his voice breaking. He turned his head away from Harry and his shoulders shook slightly from the effort of trying to control his emotions. Harry reached out with one hand and placed it on his shoulder but Draco threw it off.

“Look, if it’s not this then it will be something else” Harry said, the anger clear in his voice. “I’m not a safe option Draco. I thought you knew this, accepted the risks when we decided to be together?”

“I won’t let you do this” Draco said quietly after a few minutes had passed.

“You won’t have a choice” Harry replied calmly. He knew Draco was hurting, was frightened, but he had to, had to, make Draco see the bigger picture. “You knew there were no guarantees I’d survive this when we got involved with each other. And if there was any other way to defeat Voldemort then I would do it. But you know he cannot be allowed to win. You know that. I’ll do what I need to do to keep you safe.”

“It’s almost as if you don’t care about yourself, or like you half-expected something like this to happen” Draco argued, staring at the floor. “Why is it always you? Why are you the one that has to do everything, every time? We have a ministry full of highly-qualified aurors doing nothing yet everyone pins their hopes on a barely of-age wizard every fucking time.”

Harry saw the problem in that instant. Draco wasn’t mad with him. He was mad with the fact that, yes, it always came down to Harry, had done for years now really, and the fate of the wizarding world rested squarely on his shoulders. He felt his own eyes prickle.

“Draco, I need you with me on this” Harry said. “I know you’re worried. But don’t think for a second I’m not. I’m fucking terrified okay?” He cupped Draco’s chin in his hands and gently turned his face until they made eye contact. Draco’s eyes were shimmering with angry, terrified tears; he blinked and a few fell down his cheeks, leaving tracks on his pale face. Harry dropped his voice to barely a whisper and his voice shook slightly as his thumb wiped the tears from Draco’s eyes. “I don’t want to die. I love you, and the possibility of having to leave you is unthinkable. But if my dying is the only means Voldemort can be defeated then that is how it has to be. I’m not going to martyr myself unnecessarily, and I do value my life. But you know what the Horcruxes mean Draco. Whilst they remain he cannot be defeated. I will not be selfish and remain alive whilst he maims and kills thousands of innocents and destroys our world when there is a way I can stop him. Some things are worth dying for.”

“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?” Draco’s voice was resigned, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Harry shook his head sadly.

“I can’t. I wish I could but I can’t. I am so sorry.”

“Bloody chivalrous Gryffindor idiot” Draco replied, but one corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile. Then he leant forwards and kissed Harry deeply. Harry returned the kiss with much enthusiasm, his frustration at Draco melting away as Draco licked his bottom lip in a plea for entrance. Harry sighed as he parted his lips, relishing in the sensation of Draco’s tongue mingling with his, exploring his mouth, and thrusting in and out, emulating so seductively the feel of Draco’s cock in his mouth that Harry groaned aloud. It was like every inch of him was on fire- a warmth spread through his entire body, comforting, protecting, and oh so arousing. His skin tingled head to foot and each touch from Draco sent electricity shooting through him, pooling ultimately in his groin.

“Oh God” he whispered into Draco’s open mouth, and crushed his lips down on the blond’s hungrily, welcoming the distraction with everything he had. Draco responded immediately, one arm snaking round Harry’s waist whilst the other threaded itself into his hair.

“I love you” he breathed huskily between kisses, as Harry began to undo the fly on Draco’s jeans.

Clothes finally shed, they both collapsed onto their bed, lips furiously clashing together in a battle for dominance that neither was winning. Draco began kissing Harry’s neck, finding the spot that always made him turn to jelly, and latched his mouth onto the flesh, sucking as hard as he could without marking him, whilst Harry’s breathing became erratic.

“D-Draco” he managed to say breathlessly. “S-silencing ch-charm.”

Draco quickly cast the charm, confident they would not be overheard as the full moon was over two weeks away, and resumed his worship of Harry’s body, kissing his neck, before moving onto his chest. He took each of Harry’s nipples in turn, circling his tongue around them before biting, not hard enough to hurt, but with enough pressure to cause shocks of pleasure surging through Harry’s spine, so strong it was as if a live current was running through him. Then the kisses went lower still, Draco’s tongue lapping at his belly button, until, finally, Draco took his tongue to Harry’s erection.

Harry arched off the bed at the initial contact, biting hard on his lip to stop himself crying out. Draco increased the pressure, using his tongue stud to press on the sensitive vein, licking from base to tip before circling his tongue around the head. Then he sank down onto Harry, taking nearly all of him into his mouth.

Harry threaded one hand tightly into Draco’s hair, holding tight as Draco’s head bobbed, but with his free hand he removed Draco’s from his thigh and guided it between his legs, to just below Draco’s mouth. Draco stopped in surprise, which caused Harry to protest loudly.

“Harry, do you want me to…?” Draco asked, hope gleaming in his eyes, as he sank his mouth back down onto Harry. Harry nodded desperately as way of a reply.

“Please… want you in me. Make me forget everything for a while” he managed to gasp. The resulting moan that came from Draco’s throat vibrated round the base of his erection, bringing him threateningly close. Draco released him once more, before grabbing his wand and performing a very quick lubrication spell. He then shuffled up the bed so he was eye level with Harry, before capturing his mouth in a deep kiss.

The initial feeling of having a foreign body inside him was unusual. Harry couldn’t say it was painful, but he also couldn’t say it felt particularly good. Draco very gently thrust his finger, before inserting another. This time Harry did feel more than a bit of discomfort, and let out a gasp that had little to do with pleasure as the burning sensation became strong. Draco seemed to realise this however, and deepened the kiss, before crooking his fingers. This change of angle made all the difference. Pain turned abruptly into exquisite pleasure as his fingers massaged Harry’s prostate, a sensation so strong and so wonderful that it caused Harry to choke back a sob.

Draco continued to kiss deeply and with his free hand he stroked Harry’s sweat-dampened hair from his face, rubbing his own arousal against Harry’s hip. Suddenly Harry couldn’t stand another minute without having Draco inside him. Draco withdrew his fingers.

“Roll onto your side” he told Harry. “And lift your right leg.” Harry did as he was told. Draco positioned himself behind Harry and very gently pushed in.

It did hurt a bit but Draco was careful and Harry was well prepared. It just felt very strange. Draco supported Harry’s right thigh as he entered his lover, all the while kissing the spot on Harry’s neck that made him putty in Draco’s hands. Then he rolled Harry gently so he was almost lying on his back, his right leg draped over Draco’s right hip. The blond began with gentle thrusts, all the time expertly hitting Harry’s prostate.

Harry trembled and his breathing quickened and became noisy. He knew it would be good because of Draco’s reactions from the few times he had been inside him, but not that it would be this good. The sensations were completely different to anything he’d ever had before- the pleasure wasn’t just pooled in his groin, but spread throughout his entire body. His body was covered in goose pimples that had nothing to do with the cold autumnal weather.

“Oh Harry” Draco said throatily into his ear, and his thrusts became harder, deeper, more frantic as he approached orgasm. His hand stopped stroking Harry’s inner thigh and firmly grasped his erection, timing his strokes with his thrusts and running his thumb over the sensitive head and slickening the shaft in natural lubrication, causing Harry to let out a sound that would have sounded like a squeak, had he or Draco been inclined to analyse it, which they both certainly were not. “H-Harry.”

The fire in Harry’s stomach was almost unbearable now, as was the stimulation to both his erection and prostate. It was too much, he was going to come, and very soon. His breathing became erratic, his legs shook, as wave after wave crashed over him. Draco’s breathing was just as erratic and he was groaning. Harry turned his head and captured Draco’s mouth with his, but barely had a chance to deepen the kiss when his release was upon him- with a loud wail into Draco’s mouth he came violently, nails digging into the back of Draco’s neck, and was still shuddering seconds later when Draco found his own release.

Draco carefully withdrew from Harry and took him into his arms, drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

“You were magnificent” he said breathlessly, kissing the top of Harry’s head.

“Not bad yourself” Harry replied playfully, before sleep, an overwhelming, uncontrollable force, overtook him. He was vaguely aware of Draco casting a cleaning charm on him and whispering, “I’ll always be on your side you know” into his ear before sleep snatched him away.

*****

28^th October 1997

Dear Ron and Hermione,

Remember the letter I sent to you in September? About meeting me where we met Snuffles? Well, I need you to meet me at the place the marauders used to get in to there, in two nights’ time just after curfew. I’m coming to see you and that is how I’m getting in. I really need to talk to you. And, to be honest, I could do with a hug from you guys.

Let me know if you can make it by return note with Godric. And please don’t worry.

Harry.

Draco leant over and kissed his favourite spot on Harry’s neck as they watched Godric flying out into the early evening October dusk. Harry closed his eyes and sighed at the contact. “People will think you’re a vampire you know, the amount of time you spend sucking my neck.”

“Let them think what they like” Draco murmured, and went back to attacking the spot with his lips, eliciting a sigh from Harry.

“I’m coming with you to meet them” Draco said finally. He put his finger on Harry’s lips just as he was about to protest. “No, Harry. You need me there. Weasel and Granger can say and think what they like. Bugger them. This isn’t fair on you. Stop trying to live separate lives.”

“You want me to tell them? About us?” Harry asked.

“That’s up to you” Draco replied. “But I don’t want you to have to live two lives. I’m never exactly going to sign up to the Ron Weasley fan club or wear a flashing ‘I love Muggleborns’ badge but they’re important to you. I don’t give a flying fuck what they think of me, I just need you to be happy, and you’re not going to be if the three people you care most about in the world can’t even cope with being in the same room without hexing each other for five minutes.”

Hermione’s rushed reply arrived with Godric later that evening.

Harry,

Of course we’ll meet you. Your note was disconcerting, Harry. Are you okay? Obviously we’re going to worry about you! Are you hurt? Unwell? Ron tells me to tell you that Gryffindor beat Slytherin 450-80 on Saturday. He thinks it will cheer you up.

Hermione xx

Harry sighed when he read the note. He didn’t know exactly how his friends would take the news there was a part of Voldemort in his head, but he did know they would understand better than Draco initially had of his need to destroy it, even if it was to the cost of his own life. He meant what he’d said to Draco in their argument; some things were more important than him living. Draco had been much more reasonable and understanding once the initial shock of Harry being a horcrux had worn off, and he even accepted the risk Harry would have to take to purge it. It didn’t mean he was happy with the situation though.

Two nights later Harry and Draco apparated under the cloak to Hogsmeade, and quickly entered the Shrieking Shack. Draco had been less than impressed when Harry had explained that the ‘haunted’ shack had actually been Remus in his werewolf form. The pair made their way through the tunnel as quickly as they could. Harry had grown a lot since his third year and the passage was a narrower fit than it had been three years previously.

They emerged from the trunk of the Whomping Willow and into the Hogwarts grounds. Either Ron or Hermione had stilled the tree for them as it didn’t try and attack. Draco reached for Harry’s hand but was halted by a sudden call of “Harry!” from where two balls of wandlight were shimmering, standing out from the shadows.

“Oi! What’s he doing here?” Ron said angrily, indicating Draco but refusing to look at him directly, as he and Hermione moved closer to Harry. Draco snarled and Harry winced. He knew bringing Draco with him hadn’t been a good idea.

“He” replied Draco with a voice laced with acid, wandlight revealing the haughty face Harry knew too well from their time at school, “has come to support a friend, given that ‘he’ has done far more to help Harry in the fight against Voldemort than you two have of late.”

“That’s not true” Ron retorted hotly.

“Oh really? Okay then Weasel, a quick show of hands. Who here has been with Harry whilst he’s found two Horcruxes? Whose information has made it possible for them to be found in the first fucking place? No, come on, keep your hands up so I can count.”

“Only because your father is Death Eater scum” Ron snapped.

“Ooh, hit a nerve have I? Evil old Malfoy turning out to be more useful than the ginger wanker?”

“Fuck you” Ron barked. Draco smirked.

“I’d rather you didn’t, all the same with you.” He looked at Hermione suggestively. “I don’t know where you’ve been.”

Harry lost his temper then.

“Shut up, the pair of you. Draco, I let you come on the condition you didn’t wind Ron and Hermione up. You didn’t even manage thirty seconds which didn’t even live up to the paltry expectations I had of you this evening. Now be quiet and stop insulting my best friends or go home and I’ll talk to them alone if you can’t control your tongue. Ron, Draco is here because he’s been crucial so far in finding two horcruxes and he’s become a close friend as I’ve already told you so drop your pathetic prejudices. He also already knows what I need to tell you. Now, do you think we can make it into the castle without you killing each other?”

Ron and Draco both looked suitably chastised, and promptly fell silent. Harry met Hermione’s eye, who was giving him and approving look.

“You’ve really matured Harry” she told him quietly as they headed towards the main entrance. Harry smiled at her, before turning to cast disillusionment charms on himself and Draco.

They made it to the seventh floor without being disturbed, and Harry paced three times in front of the wall that was the entrance to the room of requirement. I need somewhere to break some bad news, I need somewhere to break some bad news, I need somewhere to break some bad news. After the third time walking past, the familiar door appeared. He pushed the door open and went inside, removing his disillusionment charm as he did so.

The room had done well. There were a couple of two-seater sofas and a coffee table, with a box of tissues atop and a roaring fireplace. It had been decorated in neutral, earthy colours but was light rather than bleak. Harry took the seat nearest the fire, sinking down into the soft brown leather. Draco predictably took the seat next to him whilst Ron and Hermione occupied the two-seater opposite them.

“What is this about Harry?” Hermione asked. Both she and Ron looked pale. Harry took a deep breath.

“Okay, there’s not a great way to say this. Um, a few days ago Draco and I were practising occlumency and Draco found something in my mind, a foreign body not part of me.” He paused for a second before continuing, but whilst Ron sat waiting for Harry to continue Hermione let out a gasp and her hands flew over her mouth, eyes wide and frightened.

“Oh no Harry” she whispered softly. “No, no no.” Harry gave her a small, sad smile.

“I’m afraid so. Ron, as Hermione’s just worked out, the night Voldemort tried to kill me as a baby, his soul was so unstable that after the killing curse rebounded on him it threw a piece of his soul out of his body, and latched itself onto me. Snape used legilimency on me and found it too, and he confirmed what it is. I’m the unintentional eighth horcrux, and whilst I remain one Voldemort cannot die.”

“Right mate. So how do we get it out then?” Ron said, determination evident in every syllable, Hermione nodding her head in agreement of her boyfriend’s words, the pair masking their true shock. Harry had to smile. This was the reaction he thought he was going to get from these two. The opposite of Draco’s. Of course, I’m not sleeping with Ron and Hermione but they both love me and care for me too. The difference between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. They understand me and accept the risk. They know it needs to be done.

“I need to infect myself with basilisk venom” Harry said, as Hermione and Ron both shuddered but, thankfully, remained quiet. “After that I will take a potion that Snape will brew. This potion wouldn’t work had I not have been, er, exposed to basilisk venom back in second year, as the body apparently gets some natural immunity and builds a limited defence. But it means I can stand to have the venom in my body for longer than I would normally, and it will be long enough to kill the part of Voldemort’s soul in me, as it doesn’t have my immunity. Then Snape’s potion will hopefully revive me and purge the soul.”

“Only ‘hopefully’?” gasped Hermione at the same time Ron said “And if the potion doesn’t work?” Harry chanced a glance at Draco. He was glaring at his two best friends. Whether because he had hoped they could talk Harry out of it and obviously weren’t going to, or because they reacted better than he initially had, Harry did not know. He didn’t have time to consider it either.

“Yes, Hermione, only ‘hopefully’, but I have full faith and trust in Snape’s potions. And Ron, if it doesn’t work, well, by then all the horcruxes will be gone and Voldemort can be defeated. You'll just have to work with Snape Draco and Remus to finish him without me.” Draco’s lips thinned and he closed his eyes at this, refusing to show too much emotion about just how badly Harry’s death would affect him in front of Harry’s friends.

“Dumbledore, it turns out, knew all about this,” Harry continued, addressing his friends once more. He couldn’t keep the bitterness and disappointment he still felt towards Dumbledore out of his voice, “but yet again failed to tell me. What he did do was give Snape a vial of Fawkes’ tears about two months before he died, telling him he’d know what they were for when the time came. I don’t know what he thought he was doing but I can’t afford to dwell on that. I am sure Snape had his suspicions but he couldn’t tell me until he was sure. I just worked it out first. I’ve told Snape that I will be the last, um, horcrux to be destroyed. If the only reason I can see into Snakeface’s soul and speak Parseltongue is because of it then I need to hold onto it until the last minute. The Parseltongue especially. Actually I want to teach you guys- Draco, you too- some basic parseltongue like ‘open’ and stuff, just in case.

“Won’t you remember it?” This time Draco spoke. Harry shook his head.

“No. I can’t hear the difference between the two languages in my head. It just sounds like English. So I need to teach it to you as if and when I do lose the ability that’s it, it’ll be gone completely if you don’t know any.”

“Don’t worry Harry” Ron said. “He’ll be out of your mind soon, and the potion will work, I know it will.”

Heartened by his friends’ reactions and support, Harry spent the next hour relaying words in parseltongue until Draco, Ron and Hermione could repeat the hissing sounds so precisely they came out as perfect parseltongue. Harry had toyed with a certain decision all evening, but had made up his mind finally.

Right. Draco, can you produce a small snake from your wand please, and you and Ron practise speaking to it? Just the basic commands I’ve shown you. I’m going to discuss something with Hermione.

He saw Draco cast the spell and a small, harmless grass snake appeared on the floor. Soon he and Ron were absorbed in their task, even forgetting to fight with one another. Harry gave them both a fond smile, then patted the seat next to him, gesturing for Hermione to join him.

“I need to tell you something else, nothing bad but I don’t want Ron to know just yet, so before I tell you I need to know if you’re uncomfortable keeping something from him” Harry said. Hermione thought for a moment.

“No, that’s fine. I mean, I don’t want to lie, but not telling isn’t the same as lying is it?” Harry smiled at her. Hermione Granger, honest to the core.

“No it’s not. Erm, ‘Mione, Draco and I… we’re… I mean… Hermione, Draco and I aren’t just friends. We’re together. As in together together.”

Hermione looked as if she had been Stupefied. Harry internally congratulated himself on managing to render Hermione speechless. After a minute she recovered enough to close her mouth.

“When did this happen?” she asked. Harry flushed.

“This is the bit you’ll be mad at me about. Mid-August. Just after we found the locket.” The look on Hermione’s face now was one of disbelief.

“You were together when we went into the Chamber of Secrets, and on my birthday! And we never knew! So you’re…?”

“Gay? Yes. I knew that before any of this happened though. He’s not ‘turned’ me or anything else ridiculous you might be considering. Actually I realised it when I was still with Ginny.”

“And is it serious? Have you slept with him?”

“Have you slept with Ron?” Harry replied pointedly in response, raising an eyebrow at her. Hermione blushed.

“Okay, point taken, it’s not my business. Sorry Harry. It’s just, it’s…”

“Draco Malfoy? A Slytherin? Another bloke?” Harry offered, somewhat defensively.

“No, I was going to say surprising actually. But even I can see he’s different to how he was in school, even though he’s being an arse to Ron tonight. And he’s obviously on our side. I don’t have to like him, as long as you do, and you’ve obviously seen something we don’t in him. But be careful, I don’t want you to get hurt. Harry, is this why you were so desperate for us to trust him? Because he’s your boyfriend?”

“No Hermione, he’s my boyfriend because I trust him, not the other way round. I don’t trust blindly, you should know that. But I told you back in September that you needed to trust my judgement. I really hope you do now. So, are we okay? Or is this going to totally ruin things between us now?”

Hermione leant into Harry and curled up at this side. “Course not. It’s just going to take a while to sink in.”

“You seem more shocked about this than you do finding out I have a piece of Voldemort’s soul in me” Harry said after a couple of minutes. Hermione gave a small chuckle.

“I think I am! You and Draco Malfoy!”

“We were always drawn to each other Hermione. Couldn’t leave each other alone. When we realised we didn’t actually hate each other it’s only natural it quickly developed to love.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows. “So it is love then? You’re in love with him?”

“Completely and unashamedly so, yes. I turn into a sappy girl when I think about him. And remarkably he feels the same. This whole ‘me being a horcrux’ thing has really upset him you know. He’s terrified I’m not going to make it.”

“You’re Harry Potter. You always make it” Hermione said with a smile, which Harry returned fully, giving her hand a squeeze.

At that moment Ron managed to set the snake on Draco, who Vanished it with a flick of his wand before turning his wand on Ron. The two began firing hexes at each other. Harry groaned and put his head in his hands.

“Not telling Ron about you and Draco yet is a very good idea” Hermione said calmly, her shield charm erected between the two before she promptly hit the pair with a body-bind curse apiece. “A very good idea indeed”.
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Harry Potter and the Black King